1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a support foot for a modular type safety rail system and in particular, though not exclusively, to a support foot for a modular safety rail system suitable for use in providing free-standing roof edge protection.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modular type safety rail systems are well known and typically comprise safety rail sections formed from lengths of metal tubing or panels which are inter-connected at ground level by connectors which, for example, facilitate construction of two, three or four way inter-connections of safety rail sections.
Tubes serving as vertical posts of a safety rail section conventionally are supported by and secured to cast iron metal base plates. The base plates generally need to be of a robust, heavy construction thereby to provide firm support and location for the vertical posts. Many different designs of base plates have been proposed, but different designs suffer different disadvantages. Thus some are relatively expensive to manufacture whilst others do not lend themselves to ease of use, for example ease of securing the vertical posts to the base plates and/or ease of securing toe boards of different sizes or in different orientations. Other designs do not lend themselves readily to being stacked safely in a manner which is inherently adapted to resist toppling of the stacked assembly.
Furthermore, in general the known designs of base plates are not entirely satisfactory for manufacturing from recycled non-ferrous or other metallic material, for example by moulding of recycled polymeric materials such as polyvinyl chloride. Such materials commonly either lack the stiffness of cast iron or do not have sufficient strength for enabling them to be provided with satisfactory screw-threaded formations such as may be necessary in order that a safety rail can be secured properly to the base plate.